A Day Before Christmas
by perhapslater
Summary: And as she watched his back, she realized that this was one of the very best feelings in the world. But there were so many. Especially when it concerned him. This boy she met at eleven and fell in love with at seventeen.


**A/N: Secret Santa for Ellie**

He tripped over a Christmas bauble on his way out of the dormitory. Making a point to go back, kick the ruddy thing and shake his head over Peter's antics, he finally descended the stairs thirty three seconds later with a book clutched in his right palm. Oh he was a reader, that boy. Loved how a wizard or a witch strung together words borne out of sheer imagination to create the best type of magic that ever existed – Fiction. Yes please, James Potter loved a good fictional novel any day. What James Potter loved more, however was a fire in the hearth, an almost empty common room and another piece of brilliance by Verity Newman. Great woman, this Verity lady. In James' modest opinion, she wrote the best stories that ever graced the magical world.

Plopping himself down on the couch in front of the fire, he flipped the book open right where he left it before he was rudely interrupted by the bell indicating that he should leave for his History of Magic, class. Anyway, empty common room (Merlin bless free periods) and the book in his hand, James was a content wizard. And he continued to be one for another twenty five minutes. In the twenty sixth minute, however (forgive James for all those specifics in his mind, he possibly couldn't have known what minute it was, since he was not wearing a watch), but we'll play along here. So yes, in the twenty sixth minute James felt a shadow over him. He felt his attention waver from the rather interesting tale, to the person standing behind him and he smiled. Sure he didn't feel the warm-common-room-book-in-hand-content anymore, but he gave into the red-hair-green-eyes-giddiness that came along with the shadow.

"Hullo, there," he greeted. In response he felt a pressure on the backrest as the person standing behind him bent down, so that she was at his height. Leaning forwards in a way that put their face next to each other, and allowed the ends of her hair to tickle his neck, she read over his shoulder, the tale that previously had him engulfed.

"I see you've been reading quite a lot of these lately, some sort of series is it?" she asked.

"Fourth part this," he said, raising the book just a little, leaning his head slightly backwards and finger bookmarking the page he was on, "sixth one comes out this New Year."

She came around the couch then to sit on other side of it. Tucking her feet underneath her and leaning against the armrest, she finally allowed him to look at her. Lily Evans. The girl with the dark red hair and pale skin with freckles and green eyes, as if painted by nature itself. Lily Evans was just _so much colour. _She smiled at him.

Lily loved it when she found James reading. Because sometimes he would keep his book down, and delve into the things he had read. He would tell her about all those adventures and all those characters that have so spectacularly captured his interest. Capturing his interest, it's a tough feat to pull off, and the Hogwarts professors can bear testament to that. There would always be this twinkle in his eyes as he talked about these tales, his expressions animated, his hands making all sort of gestures. In fact, books were one of the things that allowed Lily and James to bond. He would recommend her good novels written by witches and wizards, while she tried to introduce him to some Muggle Literature. That was a mistake, Lily soon found out. Because for the life of him James Potter couldn't remember that televisions were used to watch movies and telephones were used to make contact and, no they were not invented back in the eighteenth century so no, Jane couldn't have just called Mr. Bingley. In the end, James just termed the novel confusing and Darcy, a right blighter. "But Lily, he just helped Lydia because she was Elizabeth's sister, he didn't actually feel any concern for that girl!" Lily smiled slightly when she remembered that. Anyway, recommending Muggle Literature to James was a lost cause because, as smart as James Potter was he couldn't cope with Muggle Culture when it was just off-handedly thrown at him. Hence, the only person in this dynamic, recommending books anymore was James.

"So, what's it about?" she asked him, trying to get a peek at the synopsis at the back of the cover.

"A Wizard who travels with Muggles and shows them the stars," he replied, turning the corner of the page and placing the book on the side table.

"Wait, the stars, like you mean –"

"The planets and galaxies and cosmos and universes. They battle aliens and save the earth. Except in the end most of his Muggle companions leave him in the most painful ways imaginable and some sort of sick masochist in me enjoys that…" James trailed off.

Lily suppressed a smile and opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and remained silent. James' head rested on the backrest, small smile playing on his lips. Still lost in the world of the Wizard who showed people the stars. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"So, I take this is good," said Lily, because now will be the best part. Always the best part.

"No," James replied, head still thrown back and eyes still closed, "It's brilliant."

He almost caressed the last two words, the love for this particular story dripping from his lips. "It's fantastic. It's huge. It's so amazingly _true_. You know, you look around, and everything is just falling to pieces. Nothing makes sense. And then you read something as remarkable as this, and you realized how we are all just microscopic parts of this huge, magnificent, scary system." He had sat up straighter and he was looking directly at her. Hazel into green. And the Hazel was burning, lighting, sparkling. His hands were making all sorts of gestures, arms splaying forwards and sideways.

"We always assume that nothing is more important than us, and this little bubble of people around us, good and bad. Nothing more important than people we love and people we don't. But there, right outside this window, you look up at the sky and you see beyond it. There is a universe, constantly in movement. There are planets and stars. _Fireballs Lily! _Fireballs suspended in space and burning," he had taken hold of her hand now. His breath was hitching, his face was beginning to glow in the reddish hue of excitement and he wasn't done yet. And just looking at him, Lily soon found out she had a smile on her face, not a subtle one. A full blown smile and her breaths were beginning to labour under the weight of all the excitement that the boy sitting in front of him was exuding.

"And who knows, maybe there are life forms on those planets. Entire civilizations, civilizations we are not even aware exist. All sorts of creatures, probably dealing with the same problems as us and rejoicing in the same victories we do. And if you think about it, we aren't even aware of their existence Lily! And we can be so similar. And then this entire Pureblood mania, it becomes so appalling and so meaningless! There are so many bigger and better things out there." Skin heated and hand clutching hand, harder, "But if you think about it. We aren't small at all. We are so much bigger if we just understand the sheer scope of everything around us. We are practically entire universes within ourselves. And this Wizard, this man, I talk about. He isn't a warrior Lily, no no no! He is a man advocating peace and co-existence. And if we just realize how beautiful diversity is, imagine how much greater and madder and more brilliant all of us can be."

And then they were sitting there, on the couch in front of the hearth and inattentive to the sixth years huddled in the back corner. Their hands clutched in each other's and James' breathing labored, their eyes shining and their faces flushed at the mere thought of how grand everything was. And they were close, Lily noted. Definitely closer than where they started off. This was better than the best parts she had previously talked about. Because this is with her. With him. With both of them. James never looked more beautiful than he did when he came down from one of his highs and she had never been this close when observing him in these moments. And these moments were her sacred secrets, told only in stolen glances. And this one, this secret, right now, was the most beautiful, most powerful.

"Interesting." James broke his gaze to look at the one-seat sofa next to the couch, behind Lily. And both of them heard the sixth-years talking away.

"Don't you have Arithmancy, right now Sirius?" Lily asked, addressing the dark haired boy that had interrupted whatever it was that was happening.

"Skived off," he replied nonchalantly, "the book though, sounds interesting." He asserted.

Lily ignored that. "You know that's an offence punishable by at least a fifteen-point-deduction, don't you?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Skiving off, of course I'd know. Had been at the wrong end of that situation way too many times." Sirius quipped, "But we're talking about interesting things here, Evans. Pay attention."

"Arithmancy sounds loads interesting to me," Lily argued.

James snorted.

"Rubbish idea of interesting if you ask me," Sirius rebutted

James snorted again.

"You know what else sounds interesting?" Sirius continued after that unbecoming interruption, "If the baubles on the Christmas Tree in our dormitory contain miniature fireworks. We can set them off when the clock strikes twelve, it will be a real belter if you ask me." And before James could even make a movement, Sirius spoke up, "And I would prefer an answer in words, not snorts."

James looked at Sirius, threw him a grin, then without breaking gaze, snorted. The latter just closed his eyes and asked for patience.

"Why would there be a Christmas tree in your dormitory though?" Lily asked, curious.

"Aah," James began in a tone much haughtier than his, "'Tis a tale of time past, when celebrated four boys the Muggle God's mass –" and then James faltered, "well, I really don't know how to continue this –"

"And breathes the Muggle God a sigh of relief…" Sirius muttered. Lily tried to hide her grin. Idiots. Both of them.

James scrunched his nose, and turned to Lily, "Back in first year, we all went home for the Christmas Holidays right? So Peter suggested we decorate the dormitory and celebrate Christmas together. The four of us. Had a blast," James reminisced fondly, "anyway, since it's the last Christmas at Hogwarts, Peter insists we do it again. Except that none of us is leaving this year and nobody knows why we're celebrating Christmas a day before Christmas."

"So… You are celebrating Christmas a day before Christmas and then you will celebrate the actual Christmas on Christmas day?" Lily questioned.

"Erm, yes. That's about it." James confirmed.

"That could be a banner in our dormitory, "Christmas a day before Christmas when we celebrate the actual Christmas on Christmas day!" Sirius claimed, wearing an expression that a person wears when they believe they have had a life changing epiphany, when really they haven't. "That's good Evans, that's really good. The banner and the fireworks!"

As if on cue, a blast from upstairs resounded in the Common Room, Sirius and Lily both sat up straighter as James rushed upstairs to the boys dormitory to check what the commotion was.

"What was that?" Lily wondered aloud, still staring at the stairs that James had disappeared from.

"Pathetic." Sirius quipped. "That's what it is, pathetic."

"Merlin, Sirius! Please don't start again!" Lily begged, throwing her head in her hands.

"Look at the two of you, staring at each other like that, pathetic!" Sirius said, shaking his head.

"I shouldn't have told you!"

"Well, you didn't."

"I shouldn't even have confirmed it."

"I really didn't leave you with a choice on that one."

"Please don't remind me," Lily groaned.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Sirius asked exasperated. "It's not as if you're doing a good job hiding it. He probably knows anyway."

"I'll tell him, Sirius! Of course I will tell him. Just not right now." Lily answered.

"But why?" he whined.

"Because I like what I have with him right now, and I don't want to change that."

"But won't it be a good kind of change?" Sirius questioned, quite reasonably.

"It might be. But this," Lily almost sighed, "this is good and I want to draw this out."

"But –"

"No."

"I can tell him, if you want," he offered.

"No!" It almost came out like a shriek. Composing herself, Lily began in a voice calm and cold, "Try doing that Sirius and I swear I'll put my hand through your mouth, draw out your intestines from within you and throttle you with them." She smiled.

Sirius just blinked. And then blinked some more. "Merlin Evans, what sort of stuff did you grow up on?"

"Racial discrimination and plans of ethnic cleansing," she quipped.

And then there was silence. The playfulness gone and the two of them left pondering over what _exactly _they grew up on. _What exactly they were all growing up on._

"We're better than this," Lily heard him say. But when she raised her head to look at him, she realized he wasn't saying the words to her at all. He was sort of murmuring them, as if trying to assure himself. "We're better than this, we have to be."

But before Lily could offer Sirius any words, the footsteps on the stairs announced James' arrival and both of them looked up to see him racing down.

"Sirius, quick question," his face was read from excursion and he was huffing, "did you by any chance propose the miniature firework idea to Peter?"

Sirius' eyes lit up. "What happened?" he asked, glee evident in his voice.

"I just put out fire on Remus' bed." And then both of them burst out laughing. Lily turned to look at James, leaning down, supported by his palms placed on the knees, his face lit up with mirth and his eyes glistening. Lily realized she never wanted to see him not laughing again.

"That is –" Sirius attempted, in between laughter, "Oh boy, I love Wormtail."

"Remus will kill him," heaved James.

"Pity, he almost became warm to the idea."

"Of course, he won't kill him. If you put out the fire, all it needs is a charm to fix it," Lily mentioned sensibly, "a _Reparo!_ should do it?"

"Ah Lily, sweet little Lily." James began, "When trouble strikes, there is a time period, different for different people, but a time period for _everyone_ where they forget that a charm can fix things."

Lily opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by the bell signaling the start of her Ancient Runes class. So she compromised to just a shake of her head and lightly murmured, "You boys, just fix the poor sod's bed." And with that she made her way to the portrait hole.

James looked at her retreating back, smiling slightly. Oh Lily Evans, oh _majestic Lily Evans._ He forced himself to break gaze and then bent down to pick up the book that he had left on the table, when she heard her call him.

"Oye Potter," he looked up, "Meet me here at around eight, yeah? We have to draw the Prefects' Schedule." And with that Lily Evans went to attend her Ancient Runes class and James Potter's attention was left to battle between Sirius and the constellations.

When fifteen past eight rolled around, Lily found herself sitting on the rug in front of the fire, in the common room, waiting for an as per usual late, fellow Head Student.

"Four months, you'd think he would have learnt something," she muttered to herself as she unfolded the parchment on which she had drafted a rough schedule for the prefects' Christmas duties. Dipping her quill in her inkpot, she began reassessing all the names of the Prefects' that would be going home for the Holidays, and tried to draw a plan which suited everyone. Except that it really became a struggle after a few minutes. With, sixteen of the twenty-six leaving for the festival, Lily had no choice but to double the burden on the remaining ten. _They are going to really hate me,_ she thought bitterly.

Still trying to come up with ways to make Christmas fun for the ten poor souls who were staying, Lily heard the portrait hole crash open as James Potter practically ran in and collapsed next to her on the floor with a string of apologies for being late. Lily slowly, with much more languish that was necessary or present anywhere else on the parchment, completed the schedule for the Ravenclaw fifth year prefect and looked up.

Ruddy from cold, slightly shivering and adorned in a wet cardigan, the raven-haired boy tried to give Lily the best innocent look he could muster.

"Snow fight," Lily sighed, "I tell you to show up at eight and you decide that's a great time for a snow fight?"

"The lads won't let me go," James tried to reason, scrunching up his face slightly in apology.

Lily just shook her head, and rolled her eyes, "Don't blame the boys."

"Oye, don't get so protective about them," James replied, mock offended.

"Nobody blames my boys." She was defiant.

"Your boys?" He was smiling, not the real smile where his lips would spread and allowed the dimple in his left cheek to make an appearance, but that silent smile that you know is there because it made its way out of his voice and to his eyes.

"My boys."

"I am your boy, eh Evans?" James said as he pushed his hands through his hair.

"No. Those three are my boys." Lily countered. "You are late." She hit him on the chest with a piece of rolled up parchment.

James narrowed his eyes and looked at her, "Fine then, I see what this is."

"What? This?" Lily asked, deliberately oblivious, pointing to the parchment, "This is a rough plan of what I came up with about the prefects' schedule while you were busy playing Winter Wonderland."

"I really don't like you, Evans."

"You break my heart, Potter." Lily replied, mocking him. "Now get to work."

And so they labored for the next hour and tried to make it as holiday friendly as they possibly could. This was good, Lily decided. This was good. She had no idea when the Marauders had become her boys or when she had decided that flirty banter with James Potter was part of her normal. Lily didn't know when James grew up, just like she didn't know when she did. But as she watched him work, head bowed and his canines pressing down on his lower lip she realized that they grew up. Both of them. The world wasn't viewed as black or white anymore, it was now viewed in shades of grey. And once that was established, it wasn't long before the two of them became friends. And they were a pack, those Marauders. So those three on the grounds (or the kitchen, who knows?) became her boys. And this one, sitting right in front of her, became the reason she smiled like a loon when she was alone.

"I have a Transfiguration essay to complete after this," James interrupted her thoughts, "and oh look at that, it's already ten."

"Transfiguration essay?" Lily asked, "Oswald's theory on reverse animagi?"

"That's the one, yeah."

"Shame," Lily said, solemnly shaking her head, "I thought you'd be completing that book tonight. About that Wizard who ran amongst the stars."

"Don't do this." he begged.

"Do what?" She asked, pulling a face as innocent as she could muster without breaking into a smile.

"You know exactly what!" His voice was low and accusatory and he was grinding his teeth.

"I really don't." She was smirking now, not even trying to hide it anymore.

"Lily, I didn't submit my last three essays on time either!" he tried to reason, more with himself than with her, "McGonagall will skewer me."

"Yes, that. But James this is a man running amongst the stars," Lily said, making her voice as dreamy as possible, "the galaxies and planets and aliens and the wonderful, _wonderful_ Wizard with his Muggle friend."

"Don't do this, don't put ideas in my head," he groaned.

"Come on then, where did you leave it?" Lily coaxed, poking him in the thigh. He caught her hand, suddenly.

"Don't."

"Come on James, where did you leave that Wizard in his travels?"

James muttered something under his breath.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that," her mirth was visible in her voice.

"He was facing his nemesis who was threatening to blow up The Sombrero Galaxy," he replied grudgingly.

"And you really want to know how he stopped him, eh?"

"I hate you." James said finally ruffling his hair.

"Don't wound me like that Potter boy," Lily teased, "regardless, you love the star wandering Wizard, don't you?"

"I really, really hate you."

"Oh, look at that," Lily crossed her _t _with a flourish, "we're done with the Prefects' Schedule." She rolled up the parchment and stood up.

James looked up from the floor, "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I promised Mary to help her with her Transfiguration essay," and with those parting words Lily ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"I really, really truly hate you, Evans!" he called after her, still sitting where she left him.

He didn't._ He really, really truly didn't. _He sighed at the thought. _And she didn't either_, he knew.

When Lily Evans saw James Potter next, it was the morning after. Last day of school before the holidays began and the day that would lead to Christmas Eve of Christmas a day before Christmas. And she saw him, in the common room, writing furiously, hair messier than usual, glasses crooked and his teeth clamping onto the bottom lip. She looked closely to find that his hands were ink stained, and the story of the man who roamed the stars next to him on the floor. No dog eared pages, she noticed.

She moved towards him and as her shadow fell on the clearly sleep deprived boy; he raised his head and looked her directly in the eye. She was dressed in her Hogwarts uniform, satchel on shoulder and hair tied neatly in a high pony tail. The picture of composure. He sat with sleep lines, glasses askew, Transfiguration essay still unfinished and his quill halted mid-sentence. Complete wreck, he was. A first year making her way over to breakfast figured that they were probably in love.

"This was long and my wrist hurts," he greeted. She smiled in response, and bent down to ruffle his hair. With that, she walked out of the portrait hole.

The second time Lily Evans met James Potter that day was in their first class together – Transfiguration. He was sitting at the very back of the class, as she sat in the second row. His shirt was crinkled and untucked and she distinctly remembered not seeing him at breakfast. He was still writing, but it was not with the rush she had seen in the morning. He was probably done with it, anyway. Best in class, he was. And when McGonagall summoned the essay as soon as she entered class, a very smug James Potter had sat back with his arms folded as his parchment zoomed forward.

He met Lily's eyes and knew in that instant what that smile in the morning had meant.

In Potions, they sat next to each other, unaware of the exasperated looks they received from Remus and Sirius sitting right behind them. Lily was too busy working on the Alihotsy Draught and James was still trying to rub sleep out of his eyes. Peter, lucky sod had a free period.

"So, you stayed up all night, then?" Lily asked adding the dragon claws into the light green, simmering mixture in the cauldron.

"You are evil, you know that?" James said, as he tried to ignore the heaviness in his head while he cut the Dandelion roots as evenly as possible.

"But it was fun." She said turning around to look at him, as she left the potion to simmer some more.

"What was fun?" James asked putting down a knife, and placing his hands on the table, "The neck cramps or the pained wrist?"

"The part where the Wizard defeats his nemesis." She raised her reyebrow. James just looked at her then. No expression on his face, nothing. He just looked at her right in the eye and stared and she stared right back. "You got your rush, didn't you James?" her voice was so low that had he not been concentrating on the entity that Lily Evans was, he wouldn't have heard it at all. "You found out how the Wizard defeated his nemesis. But that wasn't enough. You were high; there were so many ideas in your head. Your brain in overdrive, your skin must have felt heated. And then you realized that it was way past the time that you had expected." She didn't blink, he didn't blink. "And then you sat with your Transfiguration homework and you completed an essay that was supposed to be two parchment rolls long within hours. Your neck is sore, your wrists hurt and you haven't had one smidge of sleep in the last thirty six hours at least. But tell me James," Lily leaned in slightly, still not breaking eye contact, "wasn't watching that essay zoom towards McGonagall's desk the best feeling in the world?"

The potion was still simmering. The dandelion roots remained badly chopped on James' desk. And the two of them had still not broken eye contact.

They were interrupted by a sudden explosion. Sally Spencer's cauldron had exploded and Lily heard Sirius mutter something along the lines of, "I swear I did not do that on purpose." And that ended the longest conversation that Lily and James had during School hours on the Day before Peter's pre-Christmas Christmas.

When Lily crawled through the portrait hole that evening into the common room, she saw Sirius and Remus trying to bribe a group of second years out of the couch in front of the fire. She rolled her eyes at their antics and went to sit on the broad window sill that gave the perfect view of the snow covered grounds. _Christmas cheer_, she thought as she dragged the sleeves of her grey sweater over her palms.

"Still not telling him then?"

"No."

"He knows."

"I know he does."

"Then why can't you just say it to him?"

"Because Remus," Lily said finally looking away from the window and towards the boy who had interrupted what might have been a great chain of thought, "I don't feel like it."

"You don't feel like it?" Remus asked as Sirius came from behind and threw himself over the werewolf's shoulder.

"Don't feel like what?" Sirius asked, inquisitive, scrunching his eyebrows?

"She doesn't feel like telling James what she feels," Remus replied.

"Lily," Sirius began, a smile playing on his lips, "Are you telling me that you are procrastinating on telling James everything?"

"No, I am not procrastinating per se," she argued back, her voice a bit hesitant, "Besides, if it's so important, he can begin that conversation." She looked over the boys' shoulders because she was aware of the sort of exasperated look that they must be sharing and she really didn't want to see that. Lucky for her, she saw James standing in front of the fire, behind the couch with a satchel on his shoulders, they caught each other's eye and he tapped his wrists. Lily looked at the clock, and sure enough it was time for rounds. "Now if you boys would excuse me," she said standing up and pushing them lightly on the shoulders so that she could walk past between them, "I have rounds to complete."

She met James in front of the fire, and before they could leave she reminded him about the Christmas Holidays. "The train leaves tomorrow morning at eleven, so we have to collect everybody, check their names and take them to Hogwarts Express, by half hour past ten the latest." She said.

James nodded in response, "I'll see you here at nine, then."

"Okay, then." Lily said, "Nine thirty it is."

"I said nine."

"Which means nine thirty."

It was mundane conversation really, nothing important. But they were standing in front of the fireplace and the golden glow around them created a halo, and there she was, the girl with the green eyes and red hair and pale skin dotted with freckles, talking to the tall boy with hazel eyes and charcoal hair that complimented his sun kissed skin. She was technicolor, he was rustic. So the fourth year bit into his chocolate frog and figured that they were probably in love.

As they exited the portrait hole, Lily asked him about his satchel, "What's that for?" she said, pointing towards that brown worn out thing.

"Let's start with the ground floor today then?" And with that he quickened his pace and began descending the first staircase that he saw.

Lily followed him, confused and put-off by his behaviour, "Is everything alright?" she asked, power walking to match up to his pace.

"Oh never better," he called back still walking straight ahead without looking back, "why would you think otherwise?"

The walk to the ground floor was then spent in silence as Lily tried to keep up with James' fast pace. Once they reached the ground floor, James finally came to an abrupt hall in front of a room and Lily stopped herself just before walking right into him. She came to stand beside James and asked, "What's wrong? And why are we here?"

"This is Filch's office," James informed her.

"I am aware, yes."

James looked at her, smirked and reached into his satchel to pull out something. It was a bauble. _The miniature firework bauble. _Very casually, he chucked the round decoration into Filch's office and without breaking Lily's eye contact, he took a few steps back. Before Lily could properly comprehend what was happening, the fireworks exploded. _Inside Filch's office. The whole school must have heard that!_

She turned away from the wreckage to share a look of horror with James only to realize that he was unfolding his invisibility cloak. He looked at her, smirked and said one word: "Run!" And with that farewell note he adorned the cloak and disappeared.

And Lily ran, before she could comprehend anything, she ran. She probably only had moments before Filch would make it to the office and the last thing she wanted was to be lurking anywhere near it. One thing, only one thing Lily was careful about and that was to run in the exact opposite direction. Because there was no way in hell that she would run _towards_ James after the feat he had just pulled. What did he think of himself, that boy? What was he thinking anyway? Lily took the first turn into the corridor that she saw. She only needed to make it to the opposite end of the castle, to be out of any radius of suspicion, she reasoned, because from there she can just put up a cock-and-bull story about patrols if anyone ever found her. She felt herself relax a little as thoughts start to come together. Besides, Filch wasn't exactly the fastest person that she had met, by the time he reaches the office and searches the surrounding areas, she'd be long gone. Lily had absolutely no idea how quickly a cat's _meow_ can turn the situation upside down.

She turned to see where the voice came from, and sure enough, there sat Mrs. Norris, _Oh no, not you! Not now! _ She thought in terror. And as if things couldn't go any worse, she heard footsteps approaching, fast and angry footsteps. She turned on her heel and fled in the other direction. She again attempted to take the first turn that was available, except this time, she heard a voice. A gleeful one. Of course, there was an explosion and the only thing that will be more concerned about it than Filch was Peeves! Lily threw her head in her hand and realized her situation. Either she could turn back and meet Filch, or she can run forward and attract the attention of the sodden poltergeist or she can just walk into the aforementioned poltergeist. She decided that she would rather try her odds at outrunning Peeves. She began running back to where she had come from, except mid-pace she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her back.

The next moment, she was under the invisibility cloak, pressed against a wall as James Potter's palm covered her mouth not allowing her to speak. They remained that way while the poltergeist and caretaker lurked. In the middle of the corridor, they stood, pressed against a wall with a poltergeist approaching from one end and the caretaker approaching from the other. Their chests were pressed together and James had one hand covering her mouth while the other one was on her waist, the only thing separating James' palm and the material of her shirt was a yellow parchment. Both of Lily's hands clutched the front of James's shirt. They breathed heavily, hearts beating against each other and their skin heated because of all the adrenaline pumping through their veins. Having to be silent didn't mean that Lily couldn't show James what she was feeling for him. She gave James the most dangerous glare that she could muster, the same one that had James stepping back in fifth year. Except James wasn't in fifth year anymore. The smirk on his lips didn't so much as falter.

Luckily for them, Peeves decided it would be a good idea to float through the walls and creep up on Filch. James and Lily heard as the argument broke out. Filch was seething. He accused the bauble to be poor Peeves' idea and Peeves didn't even defend. He just cackled maliciously. Too gleeful at the idea of fireworks inside Peeves' office to defend himself. They heard the voices walking away now with Peeves' cackles still bouncing off the walls of the castle and Filch's promise to have Peeves expelled before Christmas.

Lily bit the inside of James palm then.

"Ow!" he exclaimed removing it from her mouth.

"What were you thinking?" She whisper shouted. Outraged at what he had done and shaking him by the front of his shirt for good measure. "You could've had me deta –"

"Best feeling in the world isn't it?" he asked pulling her closer by the waist, so that not even air could pass between their bodies.

"Best feeling – what?" Lily asked gaping at him.

He leaned forward then and whispered in her air, "You run as fast as you could. Run and run and run. And your skin is over heated and you can feel the blood pulsing in your veins. You are scared and excited at the same time. You have no idea what the next turn will bring but you run." His voice was low and hoarse, right next to her ear. She could feel his breath on her cheek, his heartbeat on her chest. His hand leaned against the wall, while the other one was placed around her waist. Both of hers were still pressed between their two bodies. "And just when you think there is no way out, just when you are about to take what you know will be a stupid risk," his thumb moved up and down on her waist and Lily wasn't sure what exactly was it that she felt, "you can stop. You don't have to run anymore. Just after you think you'll get caught, you don't."

His face was still next to him and their eyes were closed now. Her fingers gripped his shirt as tightly as possible and his hands were clutching her shirt on the waist now. The parchment dropped. And as soon as it did, James pulled back.

"Best feeling in the world." He said as Lily opened her eyes to look at him. And then James Potter turned and walked towards the staircase, leaving Lily frozen against the wall.

And as she watched his back, she realized that this was one of the very best feelings in the world. But there were so many. Especially when it concerned him. This boy she met at eleven and fell in love with at seventeen. This boy who had annoyed her and pulled her hair and got into so many fights with her previous best friend. This mischievous, cocky boy who would tell her about the stars. This boy she never wanted to see not laughing. This boy who had watched her grow. Had grown with her. The boy who fought with her and laughed with her and cried with her and cherished her. There were so many moments in her life which were one of the very best, and now when she looked back at it, each and every one with him made it to the list. They were not all nice. But they were important. And they were what she would look back at when she is sixty.

She resumed a languid walk then. James was long gone, and patrols tonight were not even a possibility in Lily's mind. She walked back towards the common room pondering over what had happened. Just now. In the last seven years. In her mind. In her heart. In her relationship with Severus Snape. And in her relationship with James Potter. When did the Marauders became her boys. How did it all happen. And before she knew it, she was crawling through the portrait hole into the common room. Checking her watch, it was almost twelve. She went and sat on the window sill that she had previously occupied. She was in love with James Potter and _that_ was the best feeling in the world. She looked out of the window as the realization dawned on her and she looked up to see the dark sky. She saw a Christmas Tree hanging in thin air. A lone Christmas tree. As soon as the clock struck twelve however, the baubles began to burst into colour and noise. She looked at the sight that took place in front of her and pressed her face to the glass_. Christmas a day before Christmas when they celebrate the actual Christmas on Christmas day. _Lily began to laugh. Her boys and that one raven haired wizard. And now she knew why Peter insisted on celebrating the Christmas early. Because no one was leaving, not right now. But they will soon. So why wait another day, if we could celebrate something today? So why put something off when you know that it will bring you happiness? Why back away from something which is waiting for you with its arms wide open? Lily could not go to sleep that night.

Next morning James descended the boys' dormitory staircase at twenty past nine. Pushing his hand through his hair and still rubbing sleep from his eyes, James was still in his pajamas. He found Lily waiting for him on the couch, wearing a dark blue Christmas sweater with jeans. She turned back to look at him when she heard his footsteps. Smiling at him she patted the spot next to her. As James made to sit down beside Lily, she placed her foot on the coffee table in front of her and bended her knees a little. They were both quiet, staring into the fire.

Then, very naturally, as if it was always something that had meant to happen, Lily held James's hand. He didn't move, didn't flinch. He showed no reaction. As if he had expected this. As if he was told this would happen.

"I don't think there exists something like a best feeling in the world." Lily said quietly. James started grazing Lily's thumb with his own. Their heads rested against the backrest. And Lily continued, "There are moments and feelings and it's really about whom you share them with."

James turned his head to look at her and feeling his movement she looked right back. "Sometimes we are so busy making moments grand, we forget how amazing the little things feel," she continued. "Laughing and holding hands and fighting can all turn into the very best of feelings when shared with the right person and I know –"

"I love you."

Lily stopped talking. And for one millisecond everything else stopped too. _That was it. It was really this simple all along._

"I love you," he repeated, "and I want to have the gems when it concerns feelings."

"I was giving a very profound speech." Lily claimed, gaining control of her feelings.

"I love you." He was closer now, she could see every eyelash behind those glasses. "And it is important that you know. Because you are my very best feeling," he whispered.

Lily closed the gap between their lips. And finally, _finally_ he tasted her. Lightly caressing her lips with his, he took her face his hands as her wound around his neck. There was warmth where they met. Not heat, but warmth. He pushed her hair behind her ear as he deepened the kiss and Lily played with the hair on the nape of her neck. It was nothing like what they had imagined and yet, it was better than anything they did. It was surrender. Surrender to what they had felt for so long now. Surrender to each other. James hissed as Lily bit his lower lip. It was more than surrender, it was a giving into a craving after holding back for so long. The two of them didn't feel the fireworks, but they felt each other. And that was all that they had ever wanted. Each other.

James pulled back, after who knows how long. Their foreheads rested against each other as they tried to regain breath with closed eyes.

"The train, it leaves –" Lily began, but was cut off by the very first of the many stolen kisses that would happen in the future.

"We really should –" she tried again.

"Shush!" He said. Foreheads still together they looked into each other's eyes. And then Lily smiled. She pulled him back for a short kiss and tried to communicate to him the whirlwind of emotions in her chest right now. James understood; she knew he did. Because he drank it all in. Because he felt the same. Because _finally._

Lily pulled back this time and James pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, again.

"I love you too."

He smiled.

"We should really get going," she said and before James could do anything to change her mind, she stood up and offered him her hand.

"Oh and James," she said as they made towards the portrait hole, "Wizard who runs amongst the Stars? Remind me to show you something. You'll love it."

**A/N: Yes I incorporated Doctor Who into the Magical World. And no, the book number in the Series did not mean the incarnation of The Doctor. Why I did that? I don't even know. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it. And I would greatly love some feedback!**

**Happy Holidays!**


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